Director Justine Triet Becomes Third Woman To Win Cannes Top Prize

Justine Triet's film Anatomy of a Fall won the Palme d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The achievement made Triet the third woman to win the festival's top prize.

The legendary actor and activist Jane Fonda presented the award to Anatomy of a Fall director Triet. This year, a record 7 out of 21 films in competition at the Cannes Films Festival were directed by women.

Triet's film follows a popular novelist, played by Sarah Huller who has been accused of murdering her husband. Her personal life, marriage, and relationship with her son are brought into the courtroom and dissected by the press and the public. As per Variety, the courtroom drama is expected to be a strong contender to represent France for the international feature film award at the Oscars.

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Justine Triet

Before giving Triet the award, Jane Fonda spoke about how she first came to the Cannes Film Festival in 1963. She revealed that at that time there were no women directors competing. Fonda noted that while society has progressed, there was still a long way to go.

The 44-year-old filmmaker and director Justine Triet used her platform and addressed the protests in France during her acceptance speech. Her comments caused controversy in France.

Triet spoke about the protests regarding the retirement age and pension reforms and about how the "historic dispute" was being suppressed.

The director also address criticism about her acceptance speech and stated that the Cannes Film Festival had always been a place where filmmakers could voice their political and social concerns.

Justine Triet is the third woman director to win the Palme d'Or, after Julia Ducournau for Titane and Jane Campion for The Piano.

While Triet's acceptance speech caused controversy, Jane Fonda's method of delivering the award certificate to Triet has gone viral.

The 85-year-old actor had presented the award to Justine Triet, who had accidentally left the scroll at the podium after accepting the award. Fonda attempted to grab Triet's attention, but after the director didn't hear her the exasperated actor threw the certificate at the director while she was walking away.

Fonda's efforts (and exceptional aim) were in vain as despite the scroll clocking Triet in the back of the head, the director did not seem to notice as the scroll fell to the ground.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.

Feature Image Credit: Daniel Cole / Associated Press (left) and Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters (right)